Action 9 helps inspire new bill to protect NC homeowners

CHARLOTTE — State Rep. Carolyn Logan of Mecklenburg County came to Action 9’s Jason Stoogenke in February with an idea to help homeowners with home warranties.

Stoogenke has helped many homeowners resolve warranty issues, so Logan asked what he would put in an invoice about it, and he gave him some bullet points that could help limit common problems.

( SEE MORE >> ‘I felt ripped off’: Family frustrated with home warranty company after A/C breaks )

Three other Mecklenburg County representatives are sponsoring the bill in the North Carolina House, including Mary Belk, Terry Brown and Laura Budd.

Logan took those five ideas, sought advice from the North Carolina attorney general’s office and wrote the new bill, which was filed Wednesday.

It’s a law “aimed at protecting consumers around home service contracts” and, if signed into law, would require home warranty companies to follow new standards. This would include:

Provide a detailed description of what is “not” included in your policy – and do it in bold AND in a prominent place in the documents.
Make sure you don’t have to wait more than five business days for a major HVAC or bathroom problem – if it’s your only bathroom.
If the company can’t process the claim within those five days, let you hire your own provider and the home warranty company will pay for it.
Keep a list of suppliers and update it often, removing suppliers who are unresponsive or who regularly refuse work.

The Senate bill passed its first reading and was referred to the Rules and Operations Committee.

We will keep an eye on the bill’s progress through the legislature and provide updates if it is signed into law.

(WATCH: Action 9 helps homeowner get $3,700 from home warranty company)

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